Super Duty Tough Work Podcast

We live in a society where those who are leaders--whether that be in business, entertainment, or in politics---are put on a pedestal. In many instances, we think that their position as a leader is without consequences, which causes us to romanticize it. In other instances, we see those in leadership positions fail publicly and believe it isn't worth the risk. In this episode, we break down the ris...

We have officially entered crunch time as artists, a time when everything has to be finished in order to get our albums out on time next year. With so much to be finished before the end of the year, we both decided to change our routines for the next 30 days and add more structure, in hopes of getting things done on time. But, to make things even more interesting, we are creating a challenge to al...

Although he was first heard touring with west coast legends like Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, and the Hieroglyphics crew, Bukue One's name reached another level when he became the manager of Del the Funky Homosapien. Through his unique experience as a graffiti writer, skateboarder, and marketer, he was able to help further solidify Del's impact on the culture by forming partnerships with brands in a...

As hip-hop fans, we were all raised to want to listen to our music in the environment that has the most bang--clubs, cars, and loud system. But once upon a time, hip-hop went through a brief phase where artists started making albums that would sounded completely different in the headphones than they did on loud systems. Back then, these albums were referred to as "headphone albums." Although they...

One of the biggest benefits of building an artistic career is the ability to travel the world and experience different cities and cultures. It's a dream that works out for some, but not for others. In this episode, Blueprint interviews Pittsburg native DJ Criminal about how his relocation to Southeast Asia led him to building a DJ career, touring remote countries, and ultimately becoming a publish...

There comes a point in everybody's career where you feel like you've hit a wall. Not because of the lack of achievement, but because you've actually achieved what you set out to do. We all know what it's like to celebrate after achieving our goal, but what comes after the celebration? For many, what follows are feelings of anxiety, depression, and confusion about what to do next, but we're firm be...

In last week's episode, we covered the worst promotional strategies that artists are employing nowadays, often times hurting themselves in the process. During that episode we said that we would do a follow-up to it where we covered the best promotional strategies. Well, here it is. In this episode, we breakdown the best ways to promote yourself, so that you aren't wasting your time or annoying the...

In the rapidly changing digital landscape, where every artist is capable of building their own platform and people are more accessible than ever, there tends to be a belief that overnight success happens all the time. We are frequently given abbreviated stories about how artist blew up simply by promoting themselves to everybody they could. This has created a situation where artists are promoting...

Although we are both MCs, we are also avid beat-makers. And as beat-makers we have both been in our fair share of record stores hunting for the dopest records to use in our beat-making process. In this episode, we're talking about record shopping or "diggin in the crates" as they say, giving 8 tips on how to get better at it. Even though this conversation is for beginners, it should still be relev...

As guys who have toured the world over, we have made our fair share of money on stage. We have also missed out on a lot of money performing. Whether due to our own negligence or shiesty promoters, we've been screwed over many times and left plenty of money on the table. In this episode, we bread down TEN WAYS that performers miss out on money when they perform so that you don't have to make the sa...

While it's very easy to look around and see older people who have given up on learning new things and become satisfied, there are also many examples of older people still learning new skills and interests as they get older. It makes you wonder is the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" really true? Based on our careers, we don't think so. In this episode of the most infamous podcast on...

Although this is a hip-hop podcast, very rarely do we discuss hip-hop albums. It's not that we don't enjoy them, we just haven't had a way to discuss them properly in the past. That all changed this month when a bunch of highly anticipated albums all dropped in a two week period. In this episode, the most infamous does album reviews of new albums from Little Brother, Murs, Rapsody, Rick Ross, and...

While we both have amazing mothers who have played incredible roles in our development as men, we very rarely speak about our fathers on this show. In fact, we've found it very rare for fathers to get their just due at all. So in this episode, we breakdown ten critical lessons we learned from our fathers that have shaped who we are and made us the men that we are today. Let's go! Learn more about...

While we've had requests to speak on the topic of freelancing for quite a while, we didn't want to tackle it until we could sit down with someone who really does it. This week, we sit down with MC/Producer and graphic designer Ill Poetic about his life as a freelancer. As the man who has done the layout for several of our albums, merchandise, the logo for this podcast we cosign and know his work w...

No matter how dope you are as an artist, there will always be one factor that plays more of a role in your success more than you would like--money. Many of the most talented artists have their success limited by their financial means, while many of the lesser-talented artists with big budgets seem to succeed. While this makes perfect sense to us, we are always surprised by the number of artists wh...

For most regular people, social media is an escape and source of fun. But for most artists, social media is a source of pressure and anxiety. This is because we have to use it to promote our careers and engage with fans without being too pushy, which can be a tough balancing act. In this episode, we break down ten simple ways to get more engagement on social media; what we call the Social Media Ch...

No matter how talented and productive an artist is, they eventually reach the point where they realize that they cannot do everything on their own. A team is needed to make it to the next level. While building a team is necessary, most artists have no idea exactly what pieces they need to build their perfect team. In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, we break down the seve...

It's been a long time since we've commented on any current events in hip-hop, but with so much going on this week, we figured it's about time to give our unique take on a few notable topics. This week we give our unique take on five current stories in hip-hop that include Tupac at the workplace, MF Doom vs Freddie Gibbs, producers not chopping samples anymore, a rap festival that charged white peo...

One of the pieces that can have a profound impact on an independent artist's trajectory is having a booking agent that helps them book shows and tours. Unfortunately, booking agents are rarely seen or given a chance to speak. In this episode, Blueprint interviews his booking agent Tony Caferro about how he became a booking agent, what he looks for in the artists he books, and how artists should pi...

No matter how active you are in your craft, there will come a time when you need to take a break. And whether that break lasts a month, a year, or ten years--the way you return from that layoff could decide how successful you are moving forward. In this episode, we break down ten strategies that will help you return from a long layoff with a bang! Word! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

Once upon a time, very few would call themselves MCs. Back then, anyone who took on the title was serious about their craft and was held in high respect. Boy have things changed. So much that, even as accomplished rappers, we rarely tell people we meet that we rap any more. In this episode we break down ten reasons why we don't tell people we rap anymore. Let's go! Learn more about your ad choices...

As a founding member of North Carolina's Justus League crew--which includes Phonte, Little Brother, 9th Wonder, Big Dho, and many others--Cesar Comanche is veteran MC who has toured the world. Along the way, he founded the Building Bridges tour, where he brought up-and-coming artists together to setup shows amongst each other in different cities, helping many get on the road for the first time. In...

Once upon a time, hip-hop production was a mysterious art, known only to those deep inside the music industry. However, as technology as advanced, making beats has become easier than ever, with even casual hip-hop fans dabbling in it. This explosion in popularity has caused many to be confused about what the roles of a producer should actually be. In this episode, we break down the difference betw...

While talent and opportunity will always be important factors in achieving success, a person's mindset should never be underestimated. Some people, through their positive mindset, are able to achieve great success. Others, held back by their limiting beliefs, seem to never reach their fullest potential. In this episode, we break down the Scarcity Mindset versus the Abundance Mindset and explain th...

Since it's inception, Hip-hop has always been a powerful tool in starting many fashion trends. Some of these were good, some of these were bad, and some still confuse us. As two guys who have been around for many different eras of hip-hop, we've seen it all. In this episode of the most infamous podcast on planet earth, we dive deep into fifteen fashion trends that hip-hop started and decide which...